Citation Nr: 0213465
Decision Date: 10/02/02 Archive Date: 10/10/02
DOCKET NO. 02-10 357 ) DATE
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On appeal from the
Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in San Juan,
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
THE ISSUES
1. Entitlement to service connection for right shin splint.
2. Entitlement to service connection for left shin splint,
also claimed as left tibia pain.
3. Entitlement to service connection for arthritis of the
right foot.
4. Entitlement to service connection for arthritis of the
left foot.
REPRESENTATION
Appellant represented by: Puerto Rico Public Advocate
for Veterans Affairs
ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD
B.E. Jordan, Counsel
INTRODUCTION
The veteran had active military service from January to April
1991 and from April to August 1995.
This appeal to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) arises
from an April 2001 rating decision of the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in San Juan,
Puerto Rico.
REMAND
In an undated statement received by the Board in September
2002, the veteran requested a Travel Board hearing. Under
these circumstances, the requested hearing must be scheduled.
38 C.F.R. § 20.700(a) (2001).
Accordingly, this case is hereby REMANDED to the RO for the
following action:
Schedule the veteran for a Travel Board
hearing at the RO in accordance with
applicable law.
The purpose of this REMAND is to afford due process; it is
not the Board's intent to imply whether the benefits
requested should be granted or denied. The veteran need take
no action until otherwise notified, but he may
furnish additional evidence and/or argument while the claim
is in remand status. See Kutscherousky v. West, 12 Vet. App.
369 (1999); Colon v. Brown, 9 Vet. App. 104, 108 (1996);
Booth v. Brown, 8 Vet. App. 109 (1995); Quarles v. Derwinski,
3 Vet. App. 129, 141 (1992).
This claim must be afforded expeditious treatment by the RO.
The law requires that all claims that are remanded by the
Board of Veterans' Appeals or by the United States Court of
Appeals for Veterans Claims for additional development or
other appropriate action must be handled in an expeditious
manner. See The Veterans' Benefits Improvements Act of 1994,
Pub. L. No. 103-446, § 302, 108 Stat. 4645, 4658 (1994),
38 U.S.C.A. § 5101 (West Supp. 2002) (Historical and
Statutory Notes). In addition, VBA's Adjudication Procedure
Manual, M21-1, Part IV, directs the ROs to provide
expeditious handling of all cases that have been remanded by
the Board and the Court. See M21-1, Part IV, paras. 8.44-
8.45 and 38.02-38.03.
J. SHERMAN ROBERTS
Member, Board of Veterans' Appeals
Under 38 U.S.C.A. § 7252 (West 1991 & Supp. 2002), only a
decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals is appealable to
the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. This
remand is in the nature of a preliminary order and does not
constitute a decision of the Board on the merits of your
appeal. 38 C.F.R. § 20.1100(b) (2001).